Monday, October 16, 2006 at 10:20 AM
Hotel tycoon Howard Brent "Butch" Kerzner: RIP…
I never had the pleasure of doing business with Mr Kerzner but I knew from the accounts of mutual friends that he was extremely personable and engaging. And that even though he was a shrewd businessman who could have abused his power as the biggest private investor in The Bahamas (and the employer of a critical number of Bahamians), he demonstrated genuine interest in harmonising his business activities with the political and economic agendas of the country. Indeed, so much so - compared to other foreign investors - that he was respected and well-liked, in equal measure, by Bahamian leaders on both sides of the political divide.
Nonetheless, given his international holdings, Mr Kerzner’s death will be felt far and wide. But where I feel obliged to pay my respects, the most I feel entitled to do is to share his obituary as it was carried by my Caribbean publishing syndicator, Caribbean Net News - reported by Manuel Jimenez from Santo Domingo where Mr Kerzner died:
…a sad moment for our nation. [Bahamian Prime Minister Perry Christie]
Casino exec Butch Kerzner killed in Caribbean crash
Friday, October 13, 2006
by Manuel Jimenez
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (Reuters): Howard “Butch” Kerzner, chief executive of hotel and casino operator Kerzner International Holdings Ltd., was killed on Wednesday in a helicopter crash in the Dominican Republic.
Kerzner was surveying potential development sites for his company when the helicopter went down near the resort of Puerto Plata. He died along with two pilots and another passenger, the company said in a written statement.
“It is with great sadness that the entire company mourns the tragic loss of Butch Kerzner,” the company said.
Kerzner, 42, and his father, chairman Sol Kerzner, recently led a $3.2 billion buyout of their company, which operates Atlantis Paradise Island, a casino resort in the Bahamas, and the One&Only luxury hotel chain.
Privately held Kerzner International, based in the Bahamas, is nearing completion of about $1 billion in expansions at its Bahamas resort and is constructing a second $1.5 billion Atlantis-branded resort in Dubai.
Butch Kerzner told Reuters in an interview last month the company was also eyeing Las Vegas as a potential site for a multibillion-dollar Atlantis resort.
Kerzner has partnered with Singapore’s CapitaLand to bid for a license to develop a casino resort worth more than $1.5 billion on the city-state’s Sentosa island.
The helicopter crashed about 120 miles (190 km) north of the Dominican capital, Santo Domingo, in the area of Sosua and Cabarete, near the well-known resort of Puerto Plata.
A civil aviation official said the aircraft, which belonged to a company called Helipuertos Dominicanos, encountered bad weather and was believed to have had mechanical problems.
It was flown by two Dominican military pilots and carrying another Dominican national, the official said.
Sol Kerzner, the South African gaming tycoon who created Sun City and founded Kerzner International, was en route to the Dominican Republic.
The company said board member Paul O’Neil, the former chief executive of the company’s largest operation in the Bahamas, has been appointed acting CEO of Kerzner effective immediately.
Butch Kerzner, who was appointed chief executive in January 2004, is survived by his wife and two children.
NOTE: Mr Kerzner’s father Sol is seen in this photo above (which I inserted into Jimenez’s original article) arriving in the DR with Bahamian Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe and Mr Kerzner’s widow Vanessa.
Photo courtesy of Derek Smith of The Bahamas Information Services.
Indeed, it’s a grief for the lost of one of Bahamas influential people in the hotel and tourism industry.
It happened right in front of my house, this guy came here to help our island grow, so we really feel deeply sorry about his loss. I wish his father will bear the grief with dignity, for this is hard.